No one has been more ecstatic than Steve Kerr to collaborate with LeBron James and bring home the glory for the United States in this year's Paris Olympics.
From reporting on Day 1 of their training camp until seeing themselves at the top of the basketball world, Kerr was fully in awe of LeBron's greatness. And for him, witnessing the L.A. Lakers superstar set the standard for Team USA is nothing but a surreal experience.
From foes to ally
James and Kerr share a long, storied past in the context of a basketball rivalry. When LeBron led the Cleveland Cavaliers, he brought the best out of Steve's Golden State Warriors team, since they met in four consecutive Finals in the past decade. For a significant stretch, they were once the kings of the NBA, dominantly conquering the league and making the entry to the championship stage a norm.
However, after years of heated conflict, both sides found themselves as an unlikely ally in the name of America. With Kerr calling the shots as the head coach, he couldn't be more gratified to command LeBron as his leading man to spearhead the USAB in the Summer Games . After their run has culminated into a massive success by going perfect throughout their men's basketball campaign and winning it all with a gold medal, Steve can only express how lucky he is to work with LeBron once and for all.
"LeBron, what a blessing to coach him finally after all these years of coaching against him and trying to figure out how to beat him and to watch him up close," he confessed . "I've said this for the past few weeks — just to see his professionalism, how coachable he is, how gifted he is at every part of the game he seems to have mastered, I'm thrilled to have been able to coach him these last six weeks and I'm a LeBron fan for life."
LBJ MVP
As it is, Kerr surely enjoyed his front-row seat of witnessing LeBron's brilliance in Paris with the King winning the MVP honors of men's basketball.
LeBron got the job done for the United States' top finish. He averaged 14.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, 8.5 assists, and 1.3 steals in six tournament games. He dropped 14 points, six rebounds, 10 assists, and two steals in 33 minutes in their 98-87 final victory over France to clinch the nation's sixth straight gold medal and his third in his international career.
Being the head coach of LeBron's most defining campaign for the Stars and Stripes, Steve surely considers this Paris '24 run a one for the books.
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